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Hi everyone, first post. I'm currently new to metal detecting and I am using a loaned Whites 6000b coinmaster. I haven't dug anything but junk so far but I'm considering buying my first detector. My coworker has a Minelab CTX 3030 and I don't imagine I'll buy something that expensive as a beginner. I was looking at the Minelab Vanquish 540 or the Garrett Ace 400. I know very little about the different detectors but not looking to spend over $500 on my first. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I just recently got one of these Russian boards, which IMO looks like a good piece to work with. I read over the supplied build instructions which are fairly clear, but in a way are not totally, at the same time. I have worked with circuits quite a lot over several years, I went back to a site that discusses working with timer IC's of which in this build uses the 7555, a CMOS version of the vaunted 555 that uses 1/10th the power. This is where the MD transmitter freq. is produced. There are several ways to construct the oscillator and in the case of this design, I find one very small issue. Since as I mentioned, I just got this board and still working at putting it together, obviously I haven't tested it. Here is what I am here to discuss with anyone looking at this version, thinking about building one, or has one working. The 555 system has been know to experience unstable responses if there is no Capacitor connected from pin 5 to ground ! There is no Cap to pin 5 included in this circuit design and it uses a few other features that differ from the basic osc. circuits A .01ufd cap which on this board can be installed on the back side of the board from pin 5 to the nearest ground buss and should be some improvement to the function and stability of the circuit, it is 'optional' and it will work without it. It is a very small mod but in my experience sometimes that is all it take to work or not. I also suggest to use .100 inch header pins for connecting any of the peripheral parts. Doing this makes it easier to R&R the board for working on it, you will need to be extra diligent about connecting everything back in the proper place but if you have gone this far with this project, that is a no brainer. There are a couple of places the .100 header pins will not fit perfectly but you can get around that with the use of a single break away pin and just a tiny bit of force to re align so your connection will fit as you continue assembly. 3 pins on the right of the rough GB Pot on board are one place, another is the 2 holes just to the right and above the 4 large elect. caps around the Vreg, LM7808 or LM7809, also using a 7809 might give you a slight bit of bump in performance. Since the circuit uses a +12v supply battery, there is still a bit of margin left so that the dropout V is going to remain above the output V of the regulator until batteries are getting too low. Using a battery carrier that holds 8 AA cells, alk or even NiM rechargeables will or should work and you should still be able to get this inside the housing. The use of NiM may exhibit an issue with the 7809 so make the choice based on what battery V you plan on using. One could also use an extra bat pack in series to push the V higher for the input, as the 78xx can handle up to 30v input, this will give you a lot more operation time before the dropout V becomes an issue. I would also think installing some reverse polarity protection here, 'NEVER a bad addition to any circuit and simple, a couple of small diodes and a fuse added to the project, around a 200 milliamp mini fuse is a good rating, put some extras inside the case. The current draw of this unit is very low so you can run your batteries way down this way and still keep going, having a small solar setup would be a good thing to have with you to boost batteries also, you could make it to fit over your hat!!! I am in the U.S. and have considered doing assembly of projects in the future,,, if my board works out. The one good thing I like about this system is that it should work with several different coils out there and one can even construct their own coil if using careful attention. Coils are really not that hard to make if you have and follow the instructions. Making the casing is probably the worst part of it, using resins and hardeners. Shielding is a bit critical here. I will mention that it is almost essential that you have an oscilliscope to build one of these for adjusting the timer section freq. the 5k pot on the left side of the 7555 and also setting amplitude on the upper right of 7555, the one just left of the 14 pin IC spot.. If you don't have a scope, there are apps online that make your PC work as one and you will have to learn how to use it, or get someone that knows to help with it. Also a transistor tester is helpful and when working with these parts, you MUST know the pins and install them RIGHT if you intend to have it work but you already know this if you are thinking about assembling one.

So I’m a total noob. I’m getting my first detector later this week, an Equinox 800. In fact, it has already arrived at my local dealer but my Garrett Carrot won’t be in for another day or two so I’m waiting to get everything all at once. I want to create a test garden and have read various bits here on the forums about folks using them but can’t really find any information on how to actually create one. If this has been covered somewhere already, I’d appreciate any direction on how to find it. I’m sure creating a test garden seems pretty intuitive to experienced detectorists but there’s got to be more to it then getting some stuff you want to find and some stuff you don’t want to find and sticking it in the ground. I’m looking to make best use of the liimited space in my suburban lot to maximize learning and continually refine my detecting skills. I’m in southeast Michigan so (I’m assuming) I have very mild soil. Temperatures right now are bouncing around from 20-40 degrees F so frozen ground may limit what I can do until spring. I’m guessing that with mild soil, bench (air) testing may be a close second best to a test garden. I intend to start doing mostly coin shooting in parks and approved public land, then as my skills improve, add in some Lake Michigan fresh water beach hunting. Then, if I can gain some research skills, perhaps do some relic hunting on private land (with permission of course). With these parameters in mind, any advice would be appreciated, not only for how to create and use the garden but tips for bench testing too. Thanks!

I am pretty new to detecting, having used friends detectors from time to time, and am looking to purchase my first detector. I can get a pretty good deal on either of the two, and am wondering what experienced hobbyists opinions are on which you would buy between the Fisher F5 or Nokta Makro Simplex, and why? Ease of use isn't really a concern as I am confident I can learn to use either.

I would like to start detecting neighbors property, but I am not sure how to go about it. Does anyone have advice on asking my neighbors(who I don’t know very well) or asking people in different neighborhoods? How do I tell them there yard will not be damaged. I dig my holes in a circle in my grass and pull up the plug. I then check to see if the signal in in the hole or in the plug. Wherever it is I use a t shirt to put the dirt on and find the target. I them spill the dirt in the hole and place the plug back in the way it came out. It does look a bit brown after I do it, but as time goes by you can’t even tell. I did it in my yard lasted year, and this year you can’t even tell. Is this a good way of digging, or is there a better way? Any advice is appreciated!! Thanks!!

I'm pretty new to the detecting scene, and am having a great deal of fun so far. I have some friends that would like to participate, but they can't really justify buying one, so I was thinking I would get a second detector, so they could join in on the fun. I don't want to spend a lot of money, but still want something that has reasonable capabilities, and could serve as a fun backup machine to my Equinox 800. I've been looking at the Nokta Makro Simplex+. It's within my price point, and seems to be well liked. Suggestions? Alternatives?

I didn't know where else to put this but I thought I would try here but if it needs to be moved Steve go for it. A little background, I am in no way affiliated with this company other than I bought one of these to help relieve my elbow pain. In addition to detecting I coach golf, do a lot of push-ups/pull-ups in my fitness routine and drag my scoop behind me when on the beach. My elbows always used to hurt and there were times I chose not to detect as my tendinitis was just to painful. I found armaid through a fitness friend and tried it out and bingo, it has helped to alleviate the pain I'd get from swinging my detector or anything else physical using my arms. As we age things don't quite work as they used to and pain shows up more often in our daily lives. When I started to see relief I thought this was too good not to share with the forum at DP as I'm sure many others suffer from elbow tendinitis as well as painful wrists and fingers so here is the website. www.armaid.com They have a bunch of videos that show you how to use it so it's pretty easy to get started. Again I have zero interest in the company and my only reason for sharing it here is that it might be able to help someone eliminate or lessen their arm pain so they can detect more. I tried to attach a picture but I ran into problems so I apologize for that.

Ad blocking Let's start a "Disable your adblocker on Detectorprospector.com Campaign" -Update - Let's also rally to get Steve to add a donate button! I have an Ad Blocker on my Google Chrome, the reason is to stop being bombarded with junk advertising and spyware and so on, however, there is a downside to this, genuine sites like this one which only has minor advertising and it's very unobtrusive helps pay for the site to exist in the first place. Once I noticed I rapidly disabled my ad blocker on this site, Steve deserves every penny that advertising brings in to keep the site up and running and as good as it is, so it would be absolutely fantastic if people using ad blocking can all disable it on this site, on my ublock origin it's simple to do, I click one little button and it will work on every other site but disable its ad blocking for this site. Most people like me probably haven't given it a thought, ad blocking is always on as a form of protection on most peoples Browser but I am sure you all agree the last thing we want to do is take revenue off Steve which would contribute to keeping the site running. I have been made aware Steve pays $1200 USD a year to keep this site running and gets between 1c and 3c's for every ad we click on, takes a whole lot of ad clicks to clock up $1200 not to mention the countless hours he spends here giving us all advice and comparisons and information I feel is vital, I'd be lost in my new pursuit of metal detecting without this place. He deserves every bit of coin we can get him out of the advertising on this site. All the advertising I've seen so far since disabling my adblocker is the odd small little banner ad from Minelab, I don't mind seeing them at all, I actually quite like them and they're small and not obstructive, there is no porn ads or any such rubbish. I click on it to give Steve his advertising revenue and it just took me to Minelab's website. So let's start the campaign and help Steve out, he's forever helping us all out. Disable your adblocker for this site, you'll hardly notice you've done it, and click on the odd ad knowing every time you do, you're doing Steve a favor. Thank you for your time. Simon

Thinking ahead. Will be moving closer to Clearwater and St Pete Beach Florida later this year. What metal detector would you choose for wet sand and shallow wading - an Equinox or Impulse AQ (assuming its available)?. Based on what I have read, it seems Impulse is supposed to find gold rings that Equinox has missed.

Hi. I'm new to metal detecting, and have a couple of questions on sharing valuables found in your own neighborhood, I'd appreciate your thoughts on: 1- How do you go about metal detecting in the streets nearby your home, such as, curbside lawn in front of houses, public schools, churches, or local parks? Any advice? 2- Do you offer or agree on sharing any valuable findings with the property owner beforehand? Is there a typical percentage?... Apologies for any inappropriate questions. Thanks in advance for your advice. Tony

Traveling to let's say, Mexico, Cabo or Cancun. Going to be using an Equinox 800 on the beach. Going by airline, I assume a hard case, ie: rifle case? Maybe a Pelican. Is this overkill? Do airlines allow this? Is it expensive? Do hotels allow you to hunt on their beaches? Thanks

Hi All, I live in Chicago suburbs, am quite new to the hobby, about to buy my first detector. I did some research and have a few final questions I was hoping you could help me with: 1. Should I buy Minelab Vanquish 340 or Fisher F22, or do you have a strong suggestion for another model? (Honestly, I'm new to this, I'd like to find gold and historical relics but live in the semi-suburbs and worry about excessive anti-detecting regulations and hostile people) 2. Pinpointer: are they all the same, or should I stick to top brands like Garret, Mr. Otel or Minelab, even though they are 5x more expensive than copycats on Amazon? 3. I have a degree in anthropology (though I work in a quite different business field). Does metal detecting lead one to archaeology or numismatics necessarily? Does numismatics help with metal detecting?... Thanks so much for your insights. Tony

I use the Orx and primarily in coin fast mode. when at cellar holes And iron infested sites I get fooled all the time with great signals from big iron. What are some of the ways to avoid digging so much? Obviously big targets will give the echo signal and you can sometimes get an idea of size but what else can you look for or do?

People send me messages sometimes instead of posting on the forum. Not sure why. Guy thing... don’t ask questions in public? But most people here have fake names. 🤔 Anyway, guy asked if he should sell his CTX due to possibility of a newer model coming out someday. My answer.... The CTX is what it is. If you are satisfied with it keep it. If you don’t use it, sell it. There will always be new models. I can use a CTX and do very well. Or any top detector made in the last decade. A new model will have some new bell or whistle but will not change anything dramatically. I know people using twenty year old detectors that can run circles around people using the latest and greatest. I always have about six detectors more or less. I get new models from time to time, and not always the latest. I just got a used DFX. There are always a few that sit around unused for awhile. When that happens long enough I sell them. I call it Darwin’s Theory of Detector Ownership. Only the ones I keep using survive. The problem is my areas of focus keep shifting, and so I may stop using a nugget detector simply because I’m now more interested in coin detecting (just an example). So I sell a detector. Then a few years later my interest shifts again, and the mix changes with it. Plus I just like playing with new toys!

Ok, complete noob question here: When Im out there and listening for tones on my Equinox 800, why dont some sounds register a number? I hear all these little sounds and noises but when I go back over they sometimes disappear. Sometimes the noise changes or is very hard to find again. What can I do to help myself isolate these sounds and is every errant sound something to dig?

Now that the snow is flying in Montana I thought I would reach out to the relic experts out there and see if you all can ID these items. On first glance they look like leaf style gun sights, but there are no graduations and most sights I could find online are iron. Also, I would think gun sights would be a rare find and these items have been turning up fairly regularly lately. They were all found at different sites dating from the late 1800s over the last two years. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Happy Holidays!

Can someone please message me and advise me what the price should be for a nox 800 w/military discount? I have gotten a few different prices. I will order from someone on here but I need by Friday if possible... ty all

Hello I have a problem Please solve my problem My device has a software problem that only Qad Company can solve.

Nothing so special here, just a common 18k wedding band, really usual in Europe. I'm satisfied to see again gold after over two months of Covid Lockdown😷. The amazing thing is from where I pulled it out. I've been totally shocked by the use of a compass today, cause I found too much times myself uncapable to keep straight lines underwater in murky or windy conditions. So today I was testing not only the use of the instrument, but also a new weight harness I maked to relax my poor back and what a relief! I'm now doing snorkeling without fins and a neutral buoyancy trim. The place was a terrible one, rocky, aluminum infested, uncovered bottom by months and deadly pounded by competition of other locals... Before the lockdown I cleaned up the last drops of gold remained, when they were saying me "is over..don't do it again" and laughing,leaving me alone there: (terrible mistake💀😉)... At a certain point I was next to leave, when I decided to follow another line on the compass to come back to the shore... Thicker Sand, freshly deposited, no referral things to take note of, but......Bang! When I heard the CTX to punch a solid 12.24 I was amazed and already sure about the shape of the thing...In the middle of nowhere.... The end of the story is...I've been fooled by myself dozen of times, never been really able to cover entirely hot points in patterns and potentially leaving lot of good stuff behind..I'm sure about it cause I frequently passed again like in a circle from same spots already checked... To hunt wading is another thing than snorkeling or scuba diving. I have proof now that a compass can make the difference when I need to cover bottom in the right way. I'm noticing this fact after "only" 15 years😭....Take note and apply.....Hard payed experience....

Well, I have about fifteen hours in with the Equinox 800. This is the entirety of my metal detecting experience. All my detecting so far has been in the yard, alley, and parking strip of an 1890 Queen Anne style house in an older neighborhood near the downtown core of Helena, MT. I’m having a blast learning to detect, while trying to unravel the idiosyncrasies of the Nox. I’ve found some cool stuff, the pinnacle of which, so far, is a 1917 D Merc dime, in reasonable condition. (Pics are included) Needless to say I am hopelessly hooked. But… I have questions. Lord do I have questions. 🤣 So I’ve been perusing the forums to try to learn as much as I can from previous questions here, and I also picked up Andy Sabisch’s book, which has helped clarify several points. Following much of the advice given here and elsewhere, I’ve been sticking to the stock settings in PARK 1, and FIELD 1, though I have also played with one of the programs for coin shooting in Andy’s book. (That’s the settings I found the Merc with) So my first two questions: 1. What is the detector telling me when the target signal is erratic? ie. The signal bounces from 21 to 29 to 18 to 39 etc. with the depth indicator also jumping. So far when I’ve dug targets exhibiting this behavior, they’ve usually turned out to be some heavily rusted piece of metal - nail, chunk of iron, etc. What am I missing? 2. What is the detector telling me when I get a strong, high VDI number when swinging one direction, but nothing coming back the other direction, or when swinging 90 degrees to the original swing, the target disappears, but reappears when swinging the original direction. Thanks for any insight you can provide. I know the Nox is pretty sophisticated, and I am inexperienced. I understand I need way more time on it to begin to not only figure out the machine, but also the mechanics of detecting in general! Here’s some of the stuff I’ve found so far:

I did a search on forums for possible locations in Sumpter as we are going to be there June 22-25. Most of them where older. Is there some public areas that we can detect there? Or is there a organization that I can pay for access? While were there just hate to miss an opportunity slip away. Also going to Burns and John Day fossil area if anyone knows of some possibilities....detecting or other rockhounding activities... Thanks!

I would like to introduce to you my new favorite hand digger. After about three weeks of detecting, I have come to love this new digger I have come across. It's small, light weight (about 10 1/2 oz.) and super strong. The handle design is not your typical T handle, It is reversed and angled for better leverage while digging. Great for some of us with bad hands and It's made from heat treated Chromoly steel. The edges are serrated and the tip is perfectly designed and sharp. The handle has a bed liner type grip and 3/4 inch tubing. The blade is 2 1/4 inches wide and 6 inches long. The overall length is about 12 1/2 inches at its longest measurement. This guy has figured out what diggers are supposed to be. I added a custom paint job and paracord /carabiner clip, The paint job is holding up better than I thought and In my opinion this is one of the best diggers I have ever used. Well where do you get one????? Lucky for you members here, It's made Here in the USA by one of our great members Kac. He makes them on a limited basis and Quantity so be aware that there are only so many to be had at a given time. Kac will give you all the details on pricing and shipping if you PM him.

Im looking to get my first metal detector and will be using mostly at the beaches here in South Florida. I'll occasionally use use it more inland so would like it to be versatile. Also, wouldnt mind if it waterproof in case it gets wet at the beach. My budget is up to $1000. Can anyone recommend something that will work for me?

Wondering if anyone else has this issue with glare when detecting with the sun behind your back. The big screen reflects back. I was wondering if anyone has tried any anti-glare film and have any suggestions.